User Reviews

Appreciated super-extra, thanks dave (drmeadows). Pours a fairly thick black body with dark brown head, that foams up to a large bubbly head. Aroma, after it airs out, is roasty and chocolate, attractive. Drinks above-average, smooth, with good chocolate and roast. A superior RIS among many good RIS out there,glad I tried. The booziness seems higher than listed. Much licorice in there as well.

Pours an opaque black with a 1 inch dark khaki head that fades to a spotty cap of bubbles. Thin rings of foamy rings coat the glass on the drink down. Smells of dark roasted malts, bittersweet chocolate, and some citrus zest hops. Taste is roasted malts, dark chocolate, and some citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a slight alcohol taste as well. Medium bitterness on the palate after each sip. Lower carbonation level makes for a creamy and smooth mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good stout and my first from NEBCO. I would get this one again if I had the chance. Very nice roast and chocolate flavors with this beer.

a really fantastic stout, no frills about this one, no coffee, cocoa nibs, nothing but an authentic imperial stout here. the pour is real dark, almost black, but tinted cherrywood red when held to intense light. an inch of white head is permanently fixed to the surface. sort of an understated smell, in a meticulously refined way. its dark and bitter of course, but its also got some subtle earthy notes, like damp tree bark, and a touch of black licorice. the flavor is super roasty, as dark as you can go before getting that bitter char taste. here is where some coffee essences can be observed, but its a parallel of roasting, not necessarily of a real coffee addition. there is a little sweetness towards the finish that brings to mind butterscotch oatmeal cookies, one of my most favorite desserts. full body, standard carbonation, cloudlike soft and moist texture that really makes it dangerously easy to drink. I also love that the abv isn't through the roof. it allows for more intake, and thus more reflection. overall this is an outstanding stout, a great illustration of the style, and a beer that I may never have gotten to try if it weren't for a great trade with thebrewo. cheers for this!

Now that the expectations and availability have met the hype, I am happy to try this renowned beer for the first time.

Viscous and velvety look to the pour with a froathy mocha colored head that rises comfortably to the top of the glass. The head laces a bit and falls sooner than expected into a still and heavy beer.

Strong, strong roasted coffees and chocolates meet the forefront, leaving a heavy lactose sweetness to flavor and feel. Obviously taking clues from Sweet or Milk stouts, this beer favors sweetness over robust. The sweet character amplifies the cocoa notes and gives them a milk chocolate aroma and taste while suppressing the coffee and charred character of the beer. Lightly fruity with grapes, apples, and cherries but allowing the malts to shine.

Hops try to balance the beer but don't make any real impact to flavor or aroma. At times the beer reminds me a bit of cola or Dr. Pepper but does not deter from the sweet maltiness of the Stout.

A very nice beer that shys away from Mackeson's and toward Big Black Voodoo Daddy.

Near opaque mocha pour, pitch black in the glass with a short-lived dark brown head. Looks oily and viscous. Big chocolate malt aroma, little bit of burnt bread, caramel and vanilla. Similar flavor; chocolatey up front, but well-attenuated. Chewy without being cloying. The balance between sweetness and bitterness is excellent, making for a rich but surprisingly drinkable imperial stout. Bitter, roasty, borderline burnt finish that's balanced with just a touch of molasses. This is a great example of a traditional, no-frills imperial stout.

Appearance: Pours an inky black color with a somewhat unimpressive head; still, the beer has legs and leaves streaks of lace

Smell: Chocolate fudge, dark fruit and licorice

Taste: Chocolate fudge, from the outset, with a hoppy bitterness that develops by mid-palate, bringing along currants, charcoal and licorice; coffee elements appear after the swallow, though it is ultimately dominated by the roasty char and hoppy bitterness

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation; surprisingly thin

Drinkability: With the domination of the more subtle flavors by the roasty char and hoppy bitterness, this beer lacks some of the balance I seek in a hoppier style stout

Bottle: Poured a deep black color stout with a nice thick brown foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of light roasted malt with light coffee notes and light black chocolate. Taste is an underwhelming taste of light roasted notes with light black chocolate and light dry coffee. Body is quite full though average for style with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Good but I guess I might have caught in hype and was expecting a lot more complexity from this one.

Poured a dark coffee color with a good-sized dark tan head. Aromas of coffee, dark sugars, a bit of burnt toast, chocolate, and traces of vanilla. The taste complements the nose, with everything shining through with a nice balance. Mouthfeel was fairly thick, but somehow not quite thick enough for the beer behind it. Not too much alcohol presence, but not very much was expected given that the abv is in the low end of the range for the style. Drinkability is quite nice, and I'm glad I got to try this one.

Had on tap at Armsby Abbey. Finally got around to posting the review. I was going to wait to crack a bottle and go over my review again, but since LucasArts asked for a cease and desist on the label, the bottle value skyrocketed and I don't think I'll be cracking one anytime soon.

A: Incredibly dark with a small but super rich, thick, and dark creamy head that slowly fades. I can almost feel the darkness of space sucking me into it. No light can escape from it, either from being a vaccuum of light or the dark side of the force is strong in it (OK, not more Star Wars jokes).

N: Roast up the wazzoo! I feel like my nose is roasting itself just from the aroma. Some black patent malt aromas also stick out, with hints of dark chocolate and some almost spicy hop character.

T: Again loaded with roast. It has some stouty earthy bitter dry char and scorched malt flavors. Some rich dark fruit flavors, but still thick and kinda velvety. Some bitterness that probably comes from the stout taste combined with a little hop character, that adds a little spiciness. Some sweetness with a little bakers chocolate and a little creamy milk chocolate. HInts of coffee come with the roast that is so strong is almost feels like my tongue is being roasted (same joke twice, lame but whatever). More sweet malt flavors, but no boozy taste at all.

M: very thick with some velvety feel, lower carbonation but good for the style.

F: Semi dry actually, mostly from the bitter earthy dry roasted char from the crazy roasted malt flavors and bitter black patent malt. The bitter earthy "stout" taste seems to linger with it, and a little more chocolate and dark fruit come out late on the finish. The taste also sticks with me for hours after I'm done drinking as it seems to have filled all the pours in my mouth and acted like concrete to just settle and never leave. It's a delicious beer that lives up to the hype. I can only imagine how smooth it'll be after a couple years of aging.

16 oz swing top bottle into an oversized tulip glass. Big thanks go to Stakem for filling this off a personal keg that he had of this rarity. We’ll effectively consider this a growler serving.

Pours black as night in the glass, topped with a finger of rich and burnt looking mocha colored head. This retains with a tight ¼ finger of foam, leaving back a robust cascade of spotty forth and dark oils. The aroma has a LOT of power going on with it, with a assertive mix of chocolate, roast, and green citrus in the nose, but it’s probably the spicy alcohol sweetness from the ABV that dominates this the most. This has some presence to it.

The taste is equally thick, with notes of bitter chocolate, some sweeter feeling caramel flavor, a firm and green tasting hop bitterness, and then finally some dark roasted coffee character that fills out the back of the profile. The flavors themselves here are pretty straight forward overall but like the nose, it’s the ABV that adds that little extra something here with a bold alcohol sweetness and spicy finish. The mouthfeel is naturally full bodied, with a solid chewy heft to it that sits underneath a bit of a softer and creamier feel to the carbonation. This definitely has some warmth to the body but it’s never overly hot or stinging, keeping most of my impression of the alcohol confined to that extra layer of complexity that it adds here.

While the complexity wasn’t quite there to get this up with some of the top Imperial Stouts out there, I still rather enjoyed this. It made great use of its ABV, with warm spicy flavors and a beefy attitude that kept me interested. I wouldn’t bank the farm to acquire a bottle or anything but I sure wouldn’t turn one down either. This is good one.

A: The beer is a deep black color, with a short brown head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of chocolate, dark roasted malts, coffee and a faint touch of hops.

T: The taste is exactly what you want in an RIS, rich chocolate, hearty roasted dark malts, well-masked alcohol and not overly sweet. There's a very mild hops presence that brings a good balance. There is a slightly bitter-sweet dark chocolate after-taste.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, finish is quite clean for the style.

D: Very tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, good kick, excellent representation of style, this is a well-made, flavorful and highly drinkable RIS and is one of the best that I've had in its style.

Taste: Dark malts rolled up with plenty of smokey roast and semi-sweet chocolate morsels. Splash of almond syrup tossed with some dark fruits. Yeah, the alcohol is noticeable, but it's fairly well-integrated. Earthy hops, along with the roasted qualities, provide a medium bitterness to counter the sweetness. The tongue-coating mouthfeel really allows the flavors to persist and linger. Sweetish, roasty finish.

Not sure where I first had this (I rated it 1/13, but I don't remember the occasion), but I do know someone shared a bottle at Voodoo's first Barrel Room release in March 2013, and that's what I have notes for. Not sure what vintage it was, but it was a 750ml bottle. If I had to guess I'd say 2011.

Straight-up black pour, with a small bubbly head that receded to a thin, wispy layer, leaving a few dots of lace on the glass. Lots of roast in the aroma, dark malts and cocoa, herbal, and surprisingly some piney hops notes. More of the same in the taste, roasty dark malts and unsweetened cocoa, anise, a somewhat awkward pine hop presence, solventy grain alcohol. Fairly strong bitterness overall. Hmm. Body was medium and somewhat thinned out. This beer didn't really do much for me. It was pretty basic and uninteresting, like an average homebrew. Not bad, but not great.

2006 vintage 12oz plastic wrapped and capped bottle served at cellar temperature and poured into a snifter glass

A - Poured a very dark and thick ink colored black with just the ever so slightest touch of a dark chocolate colored brown peaking in around the top bottom and sides of the glass. A very nice, and very full three finger high head of tan colored lace and foam then rose up from the bottom and formed a nice delicate pillow across the top of the glass. Very nice retention managed to let this one keep itself around for a good couple of minutes before finally settling down and relenting to just a thin layer of tan across the top, that was perhaps a half inch high and very nice residual side glass lace that left a stringy and foamy mess of tan webs all along the inside of the glass. Very classic look for a big stout.

S - The aroma was very full and rich, just what I would expect it to be. The first thing I noticed was very sweet smell coming off of it, almost akin to a milk stout but much stronger and with a much greater depth to it. Rich chocolate notes were rotating in and out and mingling with roasted coffee and vanilla, really becoming quite full. No hint of alcohol in the aroma what so ever. There was a touch of a grainy and earthy like back that could be found hiding deep underneath a well and slight hints of caramel. Overall pretty typical for your top of the line big stout, this is to say a whole lot better then average!

T - The flavor matched the aroma beautifully, and provided a very full and balanced, if not a tad mellow profile. The first thing that I noticed was a nice touch of coffee in the flavor, not really deep roasted coffee but more of just a general flavor which was used to let everything else build off of. The notes of chocolate went very well with this, really giving a great amount of depth and darkness, which was balanced out very well by some light notes of sugar and vanilla, perhaps even some cookie dough like flavors swirling around. Nothing really dominating this that you could say it was fit into a sub type, rather it was just a very nice all around big stout flavor. Very mellow as far as the alcohol goes, and in fact I am not entirely sure even now how much was in it, as other then a slight note of brandy like quality in the first sip, there was really no touch of it at all throughout the rest of the session. The finish was very nice and strong, blending well the coffee and caramel notes with a fresh earthy hoppiness that provided some much needed bitter relief towards the end and helped to dry everything out and stretch the flavor until you were ready for a little more.

M - The feel was very nice, I will make a remark that it could have been a little bit thicker, but that is more of a personal preference then anything else, as I always tend to think every big RIS I have should have the consistency of a chocolate shake and have really no room for any thinness at all. Now that aside this was still excellent, as it was very smooth and creamy and rich, with more the adequate carbonation and a very nice finish.

D - An excellent sipper, but to be honest it was a little bit more then that. It was soo mellow and smooth that I found myself taking bigger and bigger sips as the night went on and I honestly could have sessioned this one it was that smooth. There was just no hint of alcohol in this one at all and it was just perfect to keep going on this over and over. Really very nice quality here completely.

Overall I thought this was very good. I would not put it up in the call of an Older Viscosity, or the Abyss, but aside from those it was excellent and I could easily see myself having this one again. Now I did not mention it in the appearance, but this has to be the coolest bottle I have ever seen. I am a huge Star Wars geek and this one just made my night. One of the few bottles that I will be keeping around for a while. I would say if you can get this one, definitely check it out, it is worth it, a very high quality stout that was remarkably smooth and consistent.

Enjoyed chilled slightly from a snifter a perfect choice for a 90 degree day.

A solid dark brown body with creamy beige cap similar to the colors of milky way when you look at the cross section after biting a hunk off. The smell is very malted milk ball-esque very creamy and has light caramel with a goodly amount of sweetness. The feel is full bodied with a mild roasted element, more caramel and toasted yet still pretty smooth and has light bitterness throughout. The quality of the feel is interesting is I perceive a smaller stout as I drink it which is unusual.

The flavor is so malty yet layered with lots of different elements, sure there is the malt flavor which is pretty nice and caramel saturated, but the yeast gives a nice gentle fruitiness underneath the sweet elements and mild roasted tinges. The flavor has a good toasted grain tinge and accents of hops and alcohol buoy the overall Imperial quality of the stout, I will say again this is so well crafted it gives the impression of a mid strength not a high gravity stout. The smooth cocoa element is what stands out to me with some woody elements and gentle alcohol in the finish w/ some pine notes from the hops. The beer finishes semi-dry. I think Imperial Stout Trooper deserves all the praise it gets it is such a splendid Imperial Stout it is a great example of the style. New England Crafted a great brew, thanks Stakem for sharing this delicious beer!

Pours an effervescent pitch black with dark head that falls away after a while. Nice viscosity to this, but no head retention, but some lacing

S: Dark fruit & chocolate, figs & traces of booze

T: Follows the nose with some wet charred grain thrown in up front. Coffee comes through as this warms, along with oak & vanilla, plus some boozey figs & dryness. Finishes dry, fruitty & with some more vanilla

2010 vintage. Gotta love those glasses, baby. This stuff pours a straight onyx topped by a finger or so of dark tan foam. The nose comprises roasted malts, chocolate powder, light brown sugar, and toasted caramel. The taste brings in more of the same, with the usual stout notes of roast and chocolate coming to the fore, taking charge without o'erwhelming everything else. The body is a light heavy, with a light moderate carbonation and a generally smooth and lightly chewy feel. Overall, a very nice impy stout. That's all I can say. I think I was expecting something exceptional, though, and got something only really good. I hope that makes sense...

Thanks to whoever brought this to the Inaugural "Imminent Liquidation Bottle Share" Event. I scored pours from both a bottle and a growler, but I got a bigger pour from the growler so...Growler poured into a taster glass.

A - Pours dark as night with a small half finger tall tan head, dissipating down to almost nothing, leaving light wisps of lacing down the glass.

S - Smells like your typical stout. Hints of dark roasted malt, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, light booze, and some hops sneaking in toward the end of the glass.

T - Starts off with some sweet roast up front giving way quickly to a mix of coffee and more chocolaty sweetness. Finish is a mix of sweet dark roasted malt and some light smokiness. Not bad but it really didn't blow me away.

From 01/21/11 notes. Shared at a small tasting by BigSexy410; thanks! 2010 vintage.

a - Pours a jet black color with one inch of tan head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of chocolate, roasted malts, hops, and some pine. Also hints of caramel or toffee. Lots of hops in the smell, much more than I was expecting.

t - Tastes of chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, vanilla, and light pine hops again. Not as much hops as the smell, but a step up from it. Roasted malts come through a lot in the taste.

m - Medium to full body and low carbonation, smooth and creamy body. Very nice mouthfeel for a RIS.

d - A very nice, easy to drink RIS. It was a hoppier stout than I was expecting, especially in the nose, as some pine comes through, but I still really liked it. Glad I have a bottle of this; going to hold onto it for a bit and see how it ages.

Awesome artwork! However, storm trooper on the label = George Lucas is not happy.

A: Black with decent head and lacing - shocker.

S: Roasted malt, subtle chocolate.

T: Very tasty. Nice notes of rich chocolate. The beer is velvety and smooth, with alcohol content very mellow. I like this considerably more than the barrel-aged version. I'm glad I have some more in the cellar.

M: Smooth, good carbonation level. Very little alcohol noticeable in the taste or aftertaste. Not quite as thick as I would prefer in an imperial stout, but again, well done.

D: Very easy to drink. This is an enjoyable imperial stout that I would be happy to have again.